The Other Side of Fairytale: HIS RETURN

Chapter Eight

Drake stared down at the ring in his hand, not able to say a word. He was grateful when Bastien stepped forward, breaking the silence.

"What do we know so far?"

Mara gulped, "Well..."

Bastien glared angrily at her. "Not from you."

Kal cleared his throat, stepping forward. "We know that everyone on the train is accounted for with the exception of those in this room and Cadence. I have someone looking more thoroughly into Cadence's background as we speak."

"Good," Bastien nodded. "Do we know if anyone entered the room before she left? After she left? The night before?"

Mara shook her head, "We only had an opportunity to review the time-frame twenty minutes prior to her departure."

Bastien contemplated, "The footage shows that she did not appear to be leaving under duress, but that doesn't mean it's true. We only know the part of the story that occurred in the hallway. The best way to find out more is to get as much information as we can about what was going on in here, before she left. Review the tapes of everyone that came and went from this room and anyone she called. She left her phone, so there's no way to track her, but we can see who her most recent calls and texts were."

Liam interjected, "If Maxwell was behind this, we would need to search for places he would take her. We already know he had two apartments in his name, one in Castelsarreillan and one in Ramsford."

Drake shook his head pacing. "I don't think it's likely he would take her there. He didn't make any attempt to conceal those locations. In fact, it seemed as if he wanted us to find them. They may just be a diversion."

"My thinking as well," Bastien agreed. "Still we should have one of the guards in route to Castelsarreillan sit on that apartment. We also need someone at the Ramsford apartment."

"My instinct says that weaselly little shit had help to pull this off. He had years in prison to plot and plenty of time to recruit someone to help him. If it was Cadence, they must have had some contact prior to his being released."

"Excellent point, my love," Liam added. "We can pull all his phone records from prison, find out if he had any contact with Cadence or anyone else that might be worth looking into."

"Now, if she left of her own accord," everyone in the room all avoided looking at Drake, "where might she go?"

Olivia huffed, "This is absurd, Bastien. There is no way she would voluntarily leave, I don't care what that video looks like or what the note says."

Bastien nodded, "I tend to agree, Your Majesty but we need to explore all possibilities. So, if she did choose to leave, where would she go?"

"Valtoria," Liam suggested, "or New York?"

"Michigan," Drake added, "to her family farm. Maybe the cabin."

"Monitor all airports and flag her passport." Liam rubbed his temples, wincing.

Olivia's face softened as she approached him, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Another headache? Do you want me to get your medication?"

Liam nodded, then stopped. "Our bags aren't here. I had Kal pull them from the train and put them in the limo."

Drake walked over to the nightstand tugging open the drawer and grabbing a bottle. "Here, Granger always keeps aspirin here. She's been getting a lot of tension headaches."

Liam nodded gratefully, swallowing four pills.

"Four?" Olivia questioned.

"These aren't as strong as my usual medication," he explained.